The Laughing Wolf

The largest reason to go of late has been one particular knife dealer. This person had a great selection of product from Columbia River Knife and Tool, and one time even had a bunch of seconds that were near perfect and very inexpensive. Given that one of my CRKT’s is missing, possibly dognapped on my last visit to North Georgia, I wanted to see what might be available to replace it.

The dealer had warned me that the show had been very slow for him the last two times, and sure enough he wasn’t there. Several of the dealers I am used to seeing were not there, and the pickings were slim. Given my general situation, I was looking for small items and some specialty ammo (match and other) and was very disappointed. So were the dealers that were there, with several of them talking amongst themselves about how slow it had been.

I hope that it does pick up, and that a lot of good dealers do come back. We need such a show, even if only for entertainment value or to annoy the gun control freaks.

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« ...hunt's ended

This is the Barrett M82A1. It will cost about $9,000.00 decked out.

Now, what I will take is the following:

This is the Armalite AR50, and it is a bit under half the cost of the Barrett. I figure that I have a much better chance of getting it than the Barrett, so…

Thanks again to Aaron for starting this great idea last year, and continuing it again this year. Go make a donation to his fund too, so he can get his first! Blogopoly Rules!

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« ...hunt's ended

“Why do they need to be banned?”

“Well, because they are bad.”

Hmmmm. Let’s see. What difference is there between those guns and others? Do they fire the same rounds? Yes. Do they use the same basic mechanism? Yes, in fact there is no real difference between any semi-automatic action on any firearm. Then what is the difference? Are they fully automatic? No, those are not a part of the legislation.

“Do you believe in the right to keep and bear arms? In an armed Citizenry per the Constitution?”

“Yes.”

Well, if you believe in that, you also have to believe that citizens have the right to any gun.

“Well, there are just to many of them.”

Too many types to choose from, or too many guns period?

“mumble”

The fact is, the only difference between those guns that are banned and any other semi-automatic out there is that they look scary. They don’t shoot faster, necessarily better, or more powerfully. The only difference is in looks.

The fact is, you either believe that Citizens have the right to keep and bear arms, that Citizens have duties and responsibilities to the Constitution and the Republic, or, you believe that subjects have no right and no need to be armed.

Therein lies the difference. Two differences that really are one, for they are but simply part of the whole.

To the politicians out there who are so determined to disarm the public, I would like to ask:

Why are you so scared of armed Citizens? Is it perhaps a desire to have subjects? Is it a desire to be a Civil Master instead of a Civil Servant, one who is supposed to serve not the people but the Citizens of this country? Why does the thought of people having arms, to prevent this government from becoming a tyranny, per more than one of the Founding Fathers, scare you so badly?

Of course, it has nothing to do with any of the above. Nor does it have anything to do with what YOU would do with such weapons if you had them. Then again, are there not provisions for you to be exempt from these and other gun laws? Don’t you have the right to keep and bear arms even when, and especially when, the Citizens you are supposed to represent have been stripped of their rights?

No, of course not, no more than you are willing and prepared to allow facts and logic into the debate. It is a lot easier when you make it an emotional issue, and lie, cloud, and mislead isn’t it? The sheep, I mean people, do what you want then, and willingly follow when you lead. Heavens forbid they see facts and statistics that show that responsible gun ownership and use reduces crime, and improves personal and the public safety. That few if any legally owned automatic weapons have ever been used in a crime. That right-to-carry states have seen decreases in crime, including domestic violence, rather than becoming the Wild West.

No, it couldn’t be that, any more than it could be that you simply want to appear to be doing something. After all, it is far more important to most politicians to be seen doing something, even if it is destructive rather than constructive. It is action, and perception that matter, not substance. Who cares if it will cause more problems, so long as it gets me the votes.

No, of course not, nor could it be a shallow and manipulative attempt to get television coverage. And the Old Media would never play along with a purely partisan political agenda would it? One that happens to be part and parcel of every radical movement out there, left, right, up, or down? One wonders why they are so scared of armed Citizens too…

No, it could not be any of that, could it. Bah.

The legislation to protect gun makers is indeed needed, but wise heads and hearts knew it had to go this time. The fact is, the gun industry needs the protection because of the logic being used. While I hope to avoid giving the product liability and trial lawyers any ideas, what would happen if:

The Uncle I stayed with this weekend was a butcher before he retired. By the logic of the gun suits, he and every other butcher should be suing the knife makers for all the times they got cut. They should be seeking the costs of doctors visits, stiches, and lost time and anguish for the evil inflicted on them by those horrible, horrible knives.

The families of anyone ever injured or killed by drunk drivers should be suing the automobile manufacturers. After all, it was that evil car that killed and injured those they loved. Some of those cars were actually designed to go fast, and that was a known danger. How dare they make Corvettes, Porshes, and other fast looking and fast driving vehicles, instead of making them big, solid, slow, and with all sorts of lock and interlocks to make sure they could hurt no one and no thing?

The same goes for those airplane manufacturers! They know, know mind you, that if something happens up there, that they are coming down. The sheer irresponsibility of building something like that is beyond belief.

And let’s not forget refrigerator and freezer makers, along with washer and dryers. After all, they do pose a hazard to children. Children have lost their lives in these things, suffocating, and clearly this is an unacceptable danger that has not been fully addressed. By George, someone needs to go after these people for past crimes, and to ensure that every one of these products has safeties and emergency breathing gear (and signaling gear) to save those who might get inside them.

Let’s also not forget municipal water authorities. How many people drown each year in the home? How many are scalded by hot water? They, along with tub, sink, and water heater makers simply must be held to account!

The list goes on, but the point is made.

People, we need to take back the stage because this is NOT over. The Master-Wannabes will try again. The facts need to get out there, and we need to do some massive education. We have won this round because the man behind the bill, along with others and various organizations, did the right thing. The good news is, however, that the Old Media is no longer in control of the presses. The New Media is here. Let’s let it be heard. Post how your congrescritters are planning to vote, get the word out. Our freedom is ours to lose.

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« ...hunt's ended

Okay, I presume you have so I will now give some of my thoughts. Patrolling is just that. It is humping over hill and dale, checking things out, and serving as a tripwire to get word back to higher command if something isn’t right. In this function, a patrol can observe and report, hiding or on the move, or it can call out “halp” as all chaos breaks upon it. In that case, one of two things will happen. They will either be overrun, or they can try to hold out until relieved. In the latter case, you hope and pray that it is John Wayne and not Henry Fonda coming over the hill. If you don’t get this last, go watch the John Ford westerns.

Unless you are going out against the Posleen, you don’t need heavy artillery. You want to be fast, mobile, and with enough firepower to deal with everyday problems. You are not playing Spartan at the Fulda Gap or Rambo. Given all this, and given that water, etc. is supplied, I was left with the following thoughts.

Weapon of Choice 1: Shotgun. Works well, light, and can be used for a variety of projectiles and situations. Including getting dinner if there is no problem with noise discipline. Ammo is heavy, but the easy way to deal with that is to take less. You are a patrol, remember? I would probably take 2 flare rounds, 2 incendiary rounds, 10 #1 buck, 10 rifled slug (improved munitions if possible), and 16 flechette rounds. I would also probably sneak along some 6 or 8 shot rounds for improving the larder.

Weapon of Choice 2: Lever action rifle. If the patrol was in the Southeast, I am going to give strong consideration to the Marlin 336C lever action rifle in .35 Remington. This is a country of heavy brush and undergrowth, with gives some serious complications to things. The .223 and similar rounds spin at a high rate of speed, so that they tumble wildly when they hit something. They do a lot of internal damage as a result. This is why Dad never even considered these type rounds for hunting, since we hunted for food. What was needed was stopping power that would not excessively damage meat, and would not go off Ifni-knows-where if it hit a leaf or twig on the way to the target. The solution was the .35 Remington, which can drop a Grizzly and makes its (relatively) slow and steady way to the target through obstacles. You can fire the lever action pretty darn fast if needed, and the basic mechanism is very accuracy friendly. Probably would not hump 100 rounds, 40-60 more likely.

Weapon of Choice 3: FN. Yep, my tried and trusty FN. Heavier than the M-16, but rugged, accurate, and with a scope on it that lets me do some of my snooping from a safe distance. As with #2, it is accurate and I can use it for precision shooting at fair distances. It is also semi-auto so I can do something closer to pray and spray if needed. More thoughts on that subject later. No more than 60 rounds of ammo, most likely.

Caveat #1: If at all possible, I would cache additional rounds for each within the patrol area. Carry only enough to get by, and boogie to the cache if needed. Again, this is a patrol, not the last stand at Red River. We hope. I want enough to get by, and more nearby as needed. Plan ahead and be prepared.

Given all this, what would I take? The right one for the circumstances. It is going to depend on the patrol, the situation, the support and resupply situation, and my condition at the time. These are the ones I would consider highest for around here. Elsewhere? That changes things, and is a thought experiment for another day.

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« ...hunt's ended

Easy. Get a new scope. Now, I could not come close to affording the scope I really wanted, but in talking with my local gun pusher as a part of research, I was introduced to a new option: Docter scopes.

Docter is the former Zeiss-Jena of the former East Germany. The name says it all, and they do have the tradition, the experience, and the experience of doing well on the cheap. That seems to have been a requirement under any communist regime, but they have taken that limitation and run with it to produce some truly excellent scopes at very reasonable prices.

Now, I researched things on the net, talked to people, and then did the best test possible: I went and compared several scopes side-by-side in front of the gun pusher’s. While doing such won’t tell you diddly about accuracy, it will let you do a good evaluation of the optics. Odds are, that if the optics are good, the accuracy will be as well.

Hands-down, the Docter was the best scope. It even beat the Leopuld scopes in clarity, resolution, and brightness. Throw in that the Docter comes with a lot of extra features to “customize” it for the shooter, and it was almost a no-brainer. All of this, plus some testimonials from a variety of shooters, including members of law enforcement, and I took the plunge.

I had originally planned to do this in two parts, and go into all the trials and tribulations of getting it mounted and sighted, but will spare you. What I will do is say that I was using Black Hills 168 grain boat-tailed hollow point bullets, and worked my way up to 200 yards.

This picture is of my final five round group, put into a 5.5-inch Birchwood Casey Shoot N C target that was affixed to the head of a standard B-27 target. It was shot bench rest at 200 yards, and according to measurements made at the weapons pusher, it was less than a one inch grouping. Enough said, or shown in this case.

The shooter still has a long way to go, but the scope and the rifle are right on track. Send to the ammunition and gun fund on the right so I can get better.

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« ...hunt's ended

I did not get slapped. The guys behind the counter just laughed at my antics, and she, she just stayed there cool and aloof. She, of course, was not a person but a rifle. A real LONG rifle, just the type I have been dreaming of since getting back into long-gun shooting. She was an an ArmaLite AR 50, a .50 caliber BMG.

Just the thing for long-distance match shooting. Just the thing to finish putting my shoulder out of commission, but I didn’t care. It is the same thing that drives men to do foolish things in bed, even knowing that the resultant heart attack will kill them. It is lust, pure and simple.

Now, I am a Barrett fan as you can tell from my links. Even so, I have to admit that this is a nice weapon. Well designed, sleek, and more. I would love to try one on the range and compare it to the gold standard. ArmaLite, Barrett, if you read this and want to play, just let me know.

The AR 50 has one significant advantage over the Barrett: price. The basic Barrett I want is going to run me about $6.500.00 without some of the goodies. The AR 50 is less than $3,000.00. May have to get off my rear and try for some extra work here soon so as to go play. We will just have to see.

I resisted temptation yesterday. I did not trade in and up as I did not get the deal I wanted. Also, I found out that I can get and install most of the additional features of the “advanced model” on my current one, for a heck of a lot less. Besides, I was distracted. That is the true problem with lust: it distracts you. I am now very distracted, and most everything else will have to wait.

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« ...hunt's ended

First, no knife, sword, pistol, or rifle woke up this morning and decided to kill or maim someone. They did not sharpen or load themselves, conceal themselves somewhere, lurk in wait until the victim appeared, and then do something evil. The evil takes a human, or something passing for same.

What has happened are indeed tragedies, but not necessarily in the way most would take it. It is indeed a tragedy that a struggling model and actress is critically wounded and in the hospital. It is a tragedy that a high school principal is dead. It is a tragedy that a teenager lies dead after being shot by another teenager after they found a gun and started playing with it. But there are other tragedies here as well.

It is a tragedy that the teenagers in question had never been taught gun safety or gun usage. From all appearances, not even basic “don’t touch” had been taught, and the gun hidden to keep it safe. Forbidden fruit is always the sweetest, and if a child – or someone child-like – gets a weapon under those circumstances, they will play with it. If they have no training at all, that play will be dangerous or deadly.

It is a tragedy that people are shot by estranged spouses, lovers, and others. It is a greater tragedy that in many jurisdictions, those potential victims are denied the right to carry a weapon of any type at all to defend themselves; that they are subject to waiting periods that keep them from timely self-defense; that they are told to let the system protect them when those in the system know full well they can’t do the job. It has never been the place of law enforcement to provide 24/7 security to every citizen. Self-defense has always been both a right and a responsibility of the citizen.

The largest tragedy of all is that in every case I fully expect to see “the weapon” or “the system” or some such take the blame. That arrant bit of mental masturbation has done more harm to society and the societal compact than almost anything else you care to name. It is easy to blame some inanimate object or some artificial construct with no basis in reality for all the tragedies that happen. It is so much better and easier to accept, to manipulate for political or other reasons, than to place the blame squarely where it belongs: with individuals.

No weapon got up this morning and decided to hurt or kill someone. Individuals did. Only individuals can accept or receive the consequences of their actions. Only individuals should be held accountable for their actions, for to claim or act in any other way is the height of hypocrisy and deceit.

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« ...hunt's ended

I arrived at the range later than planned, as I had to make a stop at my favorite local gun shop before heading out. I needed some additional supplies for the trip: cleaning equipment and ammo. They are good, but opening early is not their forte.

The range I am using for the FN work is located in a beautiful spot up in the ridges with lots of birds and critters around it. The largest drawback to it is that while it is not all that far in terms of straight-line distance, there is no direct route to it. It can take 1-2 hours to reach it. It has no hygiene facilities, which requires some planning, but does have a good covered shelter and a not-too-bad bench and table arrangement. Supposedly the rifle range is set for 100 and 200 yards, but the more I use it the more I want to measure it.

Set-up did not take too long, and for the first part of the day I used the 100-yard portion of the range. The main purpose of the day was to lap the barrel of the FN. Lapping is a process of accelerating the break-in of the barrel so that it will shoot more accurately. Lapping can be done several ways, but based on the recommendation of a regular at a Tavern I frequent, I decided to do something different.

This person, who knows a thing or three about weapons, had recommended a Firelap System to break in the barrel. I called the people at Arizona Ammunition about it, and after discussing the rifle, the condition of the barrel, and some other factors, they recommended that I not go with the Firelap system but with David Tubb’s Final Finish system for barrel polishing.

This consists of 50 rounds of ammunition, broken into five groups. Each group of ten rounds has a different abrasive factor, so that they sand/polish the barrel as you fire them. You fire them in a particular order, and between each group of ten you clean the barrel – very thoroughly.

They even recommend a different way of cleaning than standard. Normally, you use a brush and patches specifically designed for the caliber of gun you are cleaning. In this case, they recommended getting a brush one size smaller, and putting a patch over it. They said that this worked better, and I am inclined to think they are right after trying it.

Now, me being me, I could not help but modify this as I went. I cleaned their way until things looked clean, then switched to a proper size brush, cleaned, and then re-did the smaller brush and patches. Using this method, while time consuming, resulted in some serious cleaning.

Upon completing the system and cleaning the gun once again, I fired a group of good ammunition and found that my groupings had indeed improved. That out of the way, I proceeded to continue the process by firing 100 rounds of full-metal-jacket military ammo. After policing the brass (you can’t re-use the polish ammo, by the way), I cleaned the still hot barrel yet again.

Then, I stopped and had lunch, consisting of the remaining smoked pork shoulder from the Iron Chef battle, a chunk of wonderful cheese from Switzerland called Vacherin-Fribourgeos (if I am reading the clerk’s writing correctly) and water. A good ale or some wine would have been even better with this, as I ate in the woods on an absolutely gorgeous day, but they are contraindicated while at a range.

After lunch, I fired another hundred rounds of the cheap cartridges, cleaned again, and then got down to serious business. Since this is still early in the process, sighting-in the system continues. I set up a standard silhouette target at 200 yards, and then put 5.5-inch Birchwood Casey Shoot N C targets on the head and the center of the X-ring. I then started firing 10 rounds at a time of Black Hills 168-grain boat-tail hollow points at the targets. I used the first 20 rounds (10 at each small target) to adjust the telescopic sight. I then put up new small targets and fired 20 rounds for effect. The first 10 were not that good: I had three rounds miss into the 9 ring of the large target. That said, I did get five of the remaining seven rounds into the 9 and 10 rings of the smaller target. The 10 head shots did a similar grouping.

For fun, I hung or stood up full bottles of water and pop in different sizes, and shot them at 200 yards. If you hit them, even the smallest ones, you do know it.

Provided that this really was at 200 yards, it is not bad for a new rifle and a triggerman who has not done serious long shooting in more than 20 years. If the range is not 200 yards, then both the rifle and I are in trouble.

There is plenty still to do. I need to finish sighting in the scope and put several hundred more rounds downrange. I need to get into better shape and get serious about the shooting. As for the rifle, a better scope would not, hurt but as noted before a good one will cost more than I paid for the rifle. The trigger needs a bit of work, and that will be easy and inexpensive. There are some other things I need to get for it, but they will come with time.

Nor did I spend all my time on the rifle range. Once I had finished with it for the day, I went over to the pistol side of the range and practiced with a pistol I had been able to take up for the day. Unlike the good indoor range I use most of the time, the outdoor range has no restrictions on rapid fire, double-taps, and the like. Need a lot of work there too, but it was fun and a great way to relax at the end of the day.

All-in-all, an outstanding day that was only improved by coming home and discovering that everything on the computer but the hard drive had indeed ended up in the trash – finally. It was then only the work of minutes to recover the files I needed, and to delete all those that I did not. Hmmmmmm. Wish there was some way to get the computer to do all the paying work while I play…

More on the FN as it happens. Enjoy your day.

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« ...hunt's ended

In the week after 9-11, I wrote an op-ed as a pilot and former director of the Aviation/Space Writers Association. The title of the piece was the same as this: The Rules Have Changed. Given recent events, it is easy to forget the mindset of the pre-9-11 days.

For years, pilots, flightcrews, and even passengers had been trained not to resist in any active way. You cooperated, stalled, never looked them in the eye, never did anything to upset them, etc. This was drilled in at flight school, special seminars, safety lectures, and through a variety of publications.

Even had the pilots been armed, it is unlikely that they would have used said arms. All training, all standard operating procedure, all trained instincts would have been not to resist people who, according to some reports, claimed to have bombs and clearly had edged weapons of some type. You co-operated, bought time, and hoped that the SWAT teams were up to the job.

9-11 changed the rules. It changed the mindset of the bureaucracy in Washington, it changed the mindset of the suits in the corporate offices, and it re-affirmed the opinion of the rules held by many line-types in the flight community. There were a few who did change their mind, but many already had questioned the rules as they stood, especially those who actually had to deal with the public, the nuts, and the terrorists in person instead of from a comfortable distance.

Before, people were coddled and placated, and air rage and other travesties had become a serious problem. No one dared interfere, since the rules said not to do so, and in many cases those who did help the flight crews faced possible criminal charges for assault or worse. I can recall one case where when someone who apparently developed severe problems on a flight was subdued for the safety of all, and died while subdued. Never mind that a clear and present danger was presented to the aircraft (I seem to recall that the passenger wanted to open a door, among other things), the fellow passenger who responded and helped hold the “distraught” passenger down was charged with manslaughter or something similar. Today, if that had happened they would be a hero. Since it happened pre-9-11, they were a killer, named and shamed in a media that leaped on this story of vigilante justice. Cough, choke, wheeze.

Given the climate and conditioning of the times, having armed pilots would likely not have made a difference on 9-11. It can make a difference now. Passengers are now being taught that they can and should react to problems in the plane, as has been demonstrated by passengers in several planes. It works, just ask Shoebomber Reid. Air rage and other problems are down too, just check the crime statistics and talk to the flight crews. It is creeping back up as some complacency sets in and we are once again being told to let the professionals handle it, but that too can and will change.

Arming the pilots is a good first step, but it needs to be taken further. I put in, both officially and unofficially, a way to greatly increase the number of armed guards on flights. The fact is, there are a lot of government travelers who are ex-military or otherwise trained with weapons. There are a lot of retired military and law-enforcement people out there, or others who have specialized training. Create an auxiliary force similar to military and security police augmenters, and let them fly armed too. There is no reason not to take advantage of this trained pool to augment and expand “the proper authorities.” Of course, I was not surprised that this suggestion was rejected.

Then again, I feel that all citizens should be able to travel armed. Robert Heinlen got it so very right when he said that “An Armed Society Is A Polite Society.” I doubt that we will ever get things that far under a Justice Department that seems to take a dim view of personal liberty, but I can hope.

Go read this excellent post, and see what you think.

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« ...hunt's ended